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Rutter's Lets Customers 'Own' Their Orders

YORK, Pa. -- Some convenience store customers decide on their destination based on the menu items they can choose from. But at Rutter's Farm Stores, it's about how they can customize their selections, said Jerry Weiner, vice president of foodservices, according to a FlipSide report.

"We have now entered an era where people want to create their own thing," said Weiner.

For Rutter's, that means offering customers choices, from sandwich condiments to coffee flavorings to the meat and sauce in a stir-fry meal. Customers can input their selections on a touchscreen menu, resulting in combinations that otherwise never would have made it to the menu.

"I've watched people do things to their coffee that I would never think of," he added.

According to Weiner, who started a food program in 2007 that offers dinner in certain Rutter's locations that have the space for it, customers crave options. "Giving them the choices is a very important part of satisfying customers," he said. And in the end, customers will have to take credit or blame for how their customized selection turns out. "They own it," he said. "Like it or not, they did it."

Rutter's Farm Stores is a family-owned chain that currently operates convenience stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey.